Therapy dog helps special-needs students read, socialize

Dog helps form literacy skills, social interactions at The Children's Guild

Learning and companionship without judgment -- it's something that many children with special needs crave, and it's something students at The Children's Guild school in Baltimore are getting with the help of a furry friend.

Gabby, a 6-year-old American cocker spaniel, has been a trained therapy dog since she was 1. About three times a week, she joins her handler, Children's Guild clinical director Blake Kaiser-Mohondro, at the school, which serves kids who are difficult to educate due to autism, multiple disabilities and trauma.

Gabby listens to the children read aloud. Kaiser-Mohondro said it's a process that can bring something to the students that people can't.

"They don't judge. They're just kind of always happy. The dogs don't care what color you are or how much money you have. They could care less about anything except your kind interaction," she said. "The kids don’t get anxious and therefore relax and read naturally."

Kaiser-Mohondro said research shows that children who have read to a therapy dog increased their literacy skills by 50 percent in the first month.

A boy named Wyleek, a fourth-grader who is on short-term placement at the Children's Guild, read to Gabby in a hallway of the school on Tuesday. The hallways are decorated with bookshelves and streetscapes to help create a warm environment for the kids, who are often less fortunate at home and at their home schools.

Kaiser-Mohondro said Wyleek was a good reader to begin with, but she said he felt much more comfortable doing so with Gabby's help.

Therapy dogs also help build social skills, confidence

Kaiser-Mohondro said the animal interaction program also helps build the kids' social skills and confidence by teaching them how to show respect and receive affection. (continued on page 2)

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Special needs students at The Children's Guild school in Baltimore are learning better literacy and social skills with the help of a furry friend. Read the story.

Gabby can also help calm the kids down when they're upset by offering them silent companionship. Kaiser-Mohondro said the dog helps the kids think about someone else instead of just themselves. For example, if the child is acting out, she'll let them know their actions are scaring Gabby, which often makes them think about what they're doing and calm down.

The clinical director said she's seen the social interactions of one girl at the school make a turn for the better with just the incentive of getting to see Gabby. When Gabby's not around, she said the girl will often ask to see photos of the dog, which will get her to cooperate more.

Kaiser-Mohondro said The Children's Guild is hoping more volunteers with therapy dogs can get involved to help expand the school's animal interaction program. Anyone interested in volunteering can email her at mohondrob@childrensguild.org.

Gabby is affiliated with the group Reading with Rover, a community-based literacy program in Seattle.

The Children's Guild Institute, which is a nonprofit, also operates three group homes and has a special-needs school in Prince George's County. Gabby and Kaiser-Mohondro read to students at that school, too.

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